Beet topper



Apr. 3, 1923. D 11,450,872

H. L. SPARKS BEET TOPPER PJ lerl Mar. 2, 1922 2 shectssheet 1 INVENTOR if. par/m Apr. 3, 1923. 1,41%,872

H. L. SPARKS BEET TOPPER Filed Mar. 2, 1922 2 sheets-sheet 2 WHEN/Tb fi L, @awrks A TTOR/VEYS the cutter drum with Patented Apr. 3, 1923.

HARRY LEMUEL SPARKS, 0F HUNTSMAN, NEBRASKA.

BEET TOPPER.

Application filed March 2, 1922. Serial No. 540,475.

To all whom it may some m:

Be it known that I, HARRY LEMUEL SPARKS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Huntsman, in the county of Cheyenne and State of Nebraska, have invented a new. and useful Improvement in Beet Toppers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates toimprovements in beet toppers, and it consists in the combina tions, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a beet top-per which is adapted to sever the tops of the beets while they are still in the ground.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described which is adapted to sever the beet tops at the desired height.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described 1n which the cutting means also disposes the cut beet tops at one side of the row of beets.

A. further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described which has a cutting drum. of novel construe tion.

A further object of my invention is to pro vide a device of the character described which is relatively simple in construction, and which is efficient for the purpose intended.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the device,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device,

Figure 3 is an enlarged end elevation of broken away,

Figure 4 is a section along the line 44 of Figure 1, and

F'gure 5 is an enlarged detail of a portion of t e device.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a frame 1 which has a shaft 2 journalled therein, the shaft carrying tractor wheels 3. The wheels 3 are loosely mounted upon the shaft 2, and are operatively connected with the shaft by means of pawls and ratchets (see Figure 4). Each of the wheels 3 carportions thereof being ries a spring pressed pawl 4 which is adapted to engage with a ratchet 5, the latter being rigidly secured to the shaft 2. It will therefore be seen that when the wheels are rotated so as to move the device in the direction of the arrow, the pawls will engage the ratchets so as to turn the shaft 2. It Wlll further be apparent that when the device is turning a corner so that one wheel rotates faster than the other, the ratchet disposed adjacent to the slower turning wheel, will slip beneath the pawl. This construction provides a simple and efficient means whereby both of the wheels actuate the shaft 2, and in which either of the wheels may be rotated at a faster speed than its companion wheel.

A movable frame 6 is clamped to the shaft 2 and is adapted to freely swing therearound. The frame 6 is braced by cross members 7 and carries a shaft 8 in its free end. The shaft 8 carries a beet cutting drum 9 which will be hereinafter described. The shaft 8 is driven by means of a pinion 10, a chain 11, and a large pinion 12, the latter being loosely secured to the shaft 2. The pinion 12 may be connected with or disconnected from the shaft 2 so that it will rotate with the shaft The means for accomplishing this, consist of a collar 13 which is feathered to the shaft 2 and which is provided with teeth which are adapted to engage with the teeth 14 of the pinion 12. A lever 15 is adapted to actuate the collar 13 so as to move the collar into or out of engagement with the pinion 12. The ratio between the pinion 10 and the pinion 12 is preferably one to four so that the shaft 8 will be driven at a greater speed than is the shaft 2.

The pinion 10 is loosely mounted upon the shaft 8 and is held thereon by means of a collar 16. As clearly shown in Fig. 5. the pinion 10 is provided with rounded teeth 17 into which a spring pressed pin 18 is adapted to extend. The pin 18 is strong enough so as to normally prevent the teeth 17 from moving therebeneath. The pin 18 is carried by a sleeve 19, which in turn is rigidly secured to the shaft 8, whereby a rotation of the pinion 10 will likewise rotate the shaft 8. If, however, the shaft 8 should be suddenly locked so as to prevent the rotation thereof, the pinion 10 would continue to rotate and would cause the teeth 17 to slide beneath the pin 18. This construction provides a simple and effective means whereby the shaft 8 is normally rotated with the shaft 2, but in case of accident or the like, in which the shaft 3 was locked, the pinion 1.0 would be permitted to rotate on the shaft 8 Without turning the latter. The means hereinbefore described for normally locking the pinion 10 to the shaft 3 may be changed without affecting the scope of my invention.

As heretofore stated, the shaft 8 carries a beet cutter cylinder 9 which is clearly shown in Figure 3. The cylinder 9 is composed of side discs 20, and a cylindricalshaped member 21. The member 21 is provided with longitudinally extending grooves 22 in which are disposed cutting knives, 23. It will be apparent from the drawings that the knives 23 extend at an angle with respect to th axis of the shaft 8. It will fur ther be apparent that the ends of the knives which are positioned adjacent to the chain l1,are in advance of the opposite ends. This is for the purpose that when the knives sever the tops of the beets, the beet tops will be conveyed to the side of the drum 9 which is on the opposite side of the chain 11. This construction provides a simple and novel means whereby the beet tops are disposed in a row parallel with the beets, the row being spaced a slight distance from the beet row.

It will further be apparentthat since the beettops are conveyed to the'side of the drum opposite the chain 11, the beet tops cannot interfere with the working mechanism, The knives 23 are carried by the discs'20, and are disposed within the grooves 22, but are spaced therefrom. When the knives 23 sever the top of a beet, the leaves disposed on each side of the knives, will be permitted to be disposed of or be freed from the knives. The. knives 23 are therefore self-cleaning, and are adapted to sever the tops from as many beets as desired without becoming clogged.

The drum 9 is adapted to ride over the tops of the beets and is guided in its movement by shoes 24 and 25. The shoe 24 is secured to a collar 26 which is carried by the shaft 8 by means of an arm 27. The collar is adapted to swing about the shaft 8 and is normally held from movement by means of cable 29 which is secured to the shoe 24, is disposed over a pulley 30, and is tied to the frame 6, such as at a point 31. The shoe 25 is rigidly secured to the collar 26 by means of rods 32. It will also be apparent from Figure 3 that the rods 32 are connected to the rod 27 by a rod 33, the rod 33 being provided with a slot through which a set screw 34 which is carried by the rod 27, is sl idably disposed. The shoe 24 is further supported by means of a rod 35 which is adjustably connected to the rods27 and 33 y m a s f sj istrew 36- r ds 2 ,3 33, and 35 are disposed on bothsides of'the springs 38 (see Figure 2).

' as to raise or lower the cutting drum 9 with respect to the beet. The shoe 24 may therefore b adjusted so as to severthe beet at any height desired. direction of. thearrow shown in Figure 3 and causes the knives to sever the tops of the beet as they pass between the shoes 24 and25, respectively. The movement of the shoes 24 and 25 by the cable 29 will vary the cutting height of the drum with respect to the beet tops.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device the operation thereof may be readily understood. The device is supported by the wheels 3 and trailer wheels 37, and is adapted to'be drawn by any means (not shown). The drum is operatively connected to the shaft 2 by merely sliding the collar 13 so that it will engage with the pinion 12. As the device moves over the ground, the shoe 24 will engage with the beets and will raise the drum to the required height. As heretofore stated, the cutting height of the beets may be varied at will by merely adj usting the shoe 24. The frame 6 is constantly forced downwardly by springs 38 which are disposed about pins 39, the latter being pivotally secured" to the The drum 9' rotates in the frame 6 and being slidably mounted in arms 4.0. The arms in turn are carried by a transverse rod 41. which in turn is rotatably mounted in the frame 1. A lever 42 swings the arms 40 so as to vary the tension of the This construction provides a simple means by which the cylinder 9 is yieldingly held in engagement with the beets.

In case th knives carried by the cylinder 9 9 should strike an obstacle, such as a stone, the pinion 10 would continue to rotate but would not rotate the shaft 8, since the teeth 1'7 would slide beneath the spring. pressed pin 18. It will be apparent that the springs 38 are disposed between the frame 6 and the arms 40. the tension of the springs being increased as the frame swings upwardly. The beet tops, after being cut by the knives 23, are conveyed to the side of the drum op positely disposed to the chain 11 and are laid in a straight line which is parallel with the beet row} It will therefore be apparent that the machine for removing the beets from the ground will not be hampered by the'beet tops. The device may be readily turned, and in so doing, the lever 42 is swung so as to raise the frame 6, which in turn raises the cylinder 9 from the ground. As clearly shown in Figure 1, the trailer Wheels 37 are pivotally secured to the frame 1 at 43 so as to permit the ready turning of the device.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that the device is efficient for the purpose intended and is not likely to easily get out of order. The cutting knives of the drum may be readily renewed with respect to the beets and may be varied at will by merely moving the cable 29, which in turn will swing the shoes 24 and 25 about the shaft 8 as a pivot. It will be apparent that the higher the shoe 24 is with respect to the drum 9, the deeper the cut will be with re spect to the beet. The device is not likely to become clogged with the beet leaves, since the latter are conveyed to the side of the drum oppositely disposed to the driving chain 11. It will therefore be apparent that the beet leaves have no chance to be caught by the chain 11 and become entangled with the pinions 10 or 12. The side of the shoe 24 which is carried by the rods 25 may be moved toward the drum or away from the drum by merely moving the rods 35 with respect to the rods 27 and 33, and then locking the rods in adjusted position by means of the set screws 36.

I claim:

1. A device of the type described comprising a frame, an axle carried by said frame, wheels carried by said axle, and being adapted to rotate said axle in one direction, a beettop cutting drum, a drum supporting frame having one end pivotally connected to said axle and having its other end secured to said drum, a pair of shoes carried by said second named frame and being adapted to lift said drum, said shoes being disposed one on each side of said drum.

2. In a device of the type described, a shaft, a beet-top cutting drum carried by said shaft, said drum having a plurality of longitudinally extending grooves, and a knife disposed in each groove and being inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of said shaft.

3. In a device of the type described, a

shaft, a beet-top cutting drum carried by said shaft, said drum having a plurality of longitudinally extending grooves, a knife disposed in each groove and being inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of said shaft, and a pair of shoes carried by said shaft and being adapted to raise said shaft, said shoes being disposed one on each side of said drum.

4. In a device of the type described, a shaft, a beet-top cutting drum carried by said shaft, said drum having a plurality of longitudinally extending grooves, a knife disposed in each groove and being inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of said shaft, a pair of shoes carried by said shaft and being adapted to raise said shaft, said shoes being disposed one on each side of said drum and being adapted to be swung about said shaft as a pivot, and means for swinging said shoes about said axis, and for holding said shoes in adjusted position.

5. In a device of the type described, a shaft, a beet-top cutting drum carried by said shaft, collars carried by said shaft, one of said collars being disposed adjacent to each side of the drum, a shoe disposed on one side of said drum and extending longitudinally with respect to said drum and being rigidly secured to said collars, a rod carried by each collar, a second shoe disposed on the other side of said drum and having one side secured to said rods, adjustable rods carried by said first named rods and being secured to the free side of said second named shoe.

6. A device of the type described comprising a frame, an axle carried by said frame, means for rotating said axle in one direction, a beet-top cutting drum frame pivotally carried by said axle, a shaft carried by the free end of said second named frame, a beet-top cutting drum carried by said shaft, a large pinion loosely carried by said axle, a small pinion loosely carried by said shaft. a chain connecting said pinions, a clutch for connecting said large pinion to said axle, and an automatic clutch for connecting said small pinion to said shaft, whereby said drum is free'to stop from rotating when striking an obstacle.

HARRY LEMUEL SPAR-KS. 

